Shirt collar



May 25, 1937. F. DI IUGLlo SHIRT COLLAR Filed Aug. 1o, 193e Patented May 25, 1937 UNITED STATES vPATENT OFFICE 3 Claims.

This invention relates to collars, and more particularly to a sti or semi-stiff collar, which may either be attached to a shirt or separate from the shirt.

It is well known that collars of this character do not always hold their shape, and in some instances allow the tie to slip through the collar only with difficulty. Moreover, some diiiiculty is encountered in laundering such collars in view of the fact that the Ifold line is not always clearly defined, so that it sometimes occurs that when the collar is laundered it is not folded evenly, and therefore presents an unattractive appearance. By the present invention it is contemplated to provide a collar which will overcome the disadvantages referred to above in that the fold line will be clearly marked, so that the collar will always be folded and laundered in the proper shape, while at the same time the neckband and turnover portions of the collar will be in such relation to each other that the tie will slip readily therethrough. Moreover, the improved collar will, on account of its construction, maintain its proper shape and will always be worn comfortably by the wearer.

One object of my invention is the provision of an improved collar of the type described, which will be comfortable to the wearer and at the same time have the fold line clearly defined.

Another object of the invention is the provision of an improved collar of the character described wherein the foldover portion of the collar will be stiff or semi-stiff, and the neckband portion of the collar will be soft and comfortable to the wearer.

A still further object of the invention is the provision of a turndown collar of such character that the turndown portion will be spaced from the neckband portion so as to provide for the easy slipping of the tie through the collar, and which at the same time will have the other advantages set forth herein.

To these and other ends the invention consists in the novel features and combinations of parts to be hereinafter described and claimed;

In the accompanying drawing:

Fig. 1 is an elevational View of a completed collar embodying my invention;

Fig. 2 is a back view of the inner lining member of the collar;

Fig. 3 is a sectional view of the completed collar on line 3-3 of Fig. 1;

Figs. 4 and 5 are sectional views of the inner lining member of the collar taken respectively on lines I-I and 5- 5 of Fig. 2; and

Fig. 6 is a sectional view similar to Fig. 3 but showing the collar turned down in the position in which it is worn.

As shown in Fig. l, the collar consists, as is usual in collars of this character, of a neckband portion I0 and a turnover or turndown portion I I. While the collar is shown separately, it is understood that it may be attached to a shirt to be used as an attached collar. As shown in Fig. 3, the collar comprises two outer plies I2 and I3, which will preferably be continuous strips of material, the ply I3 being the front and the ply I2 the back ply.

Between these plies is the inner lining member shown in Fig. 2. This member comprises an upper turnover portion Il of a relatively heavy and closely woven material, and a lower neckband portion I5 of a relatively light, loosely woven material. The upper portion I4 is provided with an adhesive substance of a suitable character so that, when properly treated, it will adhere or be fused to the front and back plies I2 and I3 throughout the turnover portion of the collar so that this portion of the collar will be relatively stiff. The neckband portion I5 of the inner lining member is, as stated, of relatively' light, loosely woven material, and preferably will not be treated with a fusible material, so that it will not be fused to the plies I2 and I3, and the collar throughout the neckband portion will be relative- 1y soft.

The meeting edges of the members I4 and I5 are placed in superposition and stitched along the line I6, shown in Fig. 2, so that there is a double edge below the line of stitching which overlies the upper portion of the neckband member I5. In other words, adjacent the upper edge of the neckband member, the lining member will be of three-ply thickness immediately below the line of stitching I6. A strip of material I1 is then stitched to the inner lining member as at I6*il in such position that its upper edge substantially coincides with the upper folded edge of the neckband portion I5, which is substantially at the position of the line of stitching I6. The upper edge of this strip I1, when the lining member is constructed in this manner, determines the fold line of the collar in conjunction with the doubled over portion of the neckband I5 and the overlapping edge of the turnover portion I4. lIn other words, over that area of the lining member covered by the strip I1; this member will be of four-ply thickness. 'I'he strip II is a single unfolded strip of relatively heavy and stiff ma'- terial, and may be stitched in place at the same time that the members I l and Il are stitched together, that is, all of the members Il, Il and I1 may be secured together by the single line of stitching |61. In this case, such a line of stitching will be disposed as closely as possible to the upper edge of the strip I1.

In Fig. 4 of the drawing is shown the inner lining member in sectional view before the strip I1 has been applied. After the strip I1 has been "applied, theappearance of'the inner lining member is shown in Fig. 5.

After the inner lining member has been constructed as shown in Fig. 5, the back and front plies I2 and I3 of the collar are placed upon opposite sides of the lining member, and may be secured thereto by the stitching I6, IB and I9 shown in Fig. 3. The upper or turnover` portion of the collar may then be fused by the usual operation to cause the plies throughout this portion of the collar to adhere to the inner lining, which will provide for a certain amount of rigidity and stiffness in this portion of the article.

It will be apparent 'from Figs. 3 and 6 that the overlapping portions of the members I4 and I8, as well as the strip I1, aredisposed upon the back. side of the collar, or what may be termed the inside when the collar is folded as shown in Fig. 6. This provides a relatively smooth outer surface upon the rightfside of the collar, and also provides for the spacing of the turnover portion of the collar from the neck.- band portion thereof, as shown in Fig. 6, so that the tie will slip readily therethrough.

It will be'obvious that the vpresent collar combines a great many advantageous features. The fold line will be clearly defined by a thickening of the inner lining member at this point. Moreover, a part of the material for effecting this result is obtained by the overlapping edges of the members Il and I5 below the stitch line I6, so that it is only necessary to apply thereto a single strip of material I1. vIn addition, when the added thickness is arranged upon the back or the inside of the collar, the turndown portion will be spaced from the neckband portion, as shown in Fig. 6, to provide for the free slipping of the tie therethrough, and at the same time the neckband portion will always be relatively soft and comfortable to the wearer, while the turnover portion will be relatively sti so as to maintain its form and shape.

In the manufacture of such a collar it is desirable', as stated, to provide the members I4 and I5 of different weight and texture, so that the inner lining member consists of two separate members'joined together instead of a single strip of material. Advantage is taken of this fact -by the employment of the seam edges or overlapping edges of these two members to thicken the collar at the upper edge of the neckband portion, and, in cooperation with the strip I1, to

define the fold line of the completed article. IIt

will also be seen that, as'the strip I1 is stitched' embodiment of my invention, it'will be understoodv that it is not to be limitedto all of the details shown, but is capable of modification and variation within the spirit of the invention and within the scope of the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. A foldover collar having front and back sections each comprising a single strip of material,

and an' inner lining member, said member comprising separate neckband and foldover sections having their meeting edges superposed and being stitched together along a line spaced slightly from said superposed edges, and said edge portions below said line of stitching being folded downwardly over the upper portion of the neckband section, a narrow single-ply strip of relatively heavy material being stitched to said member in a'. position overlying said folded edge portion at the rear side thereof whereby said inner lining member is of four-ply thickness at the upper edge of the neckband portion to define clearly the fold line of the collar and space apart the neckband and turnover portions of the completed folded collar.

2. A collar as in claim 1 wherein-the foldover section of the inner lining member is of heavier material than the neckband section of said member, and wherein the collar 'is fused throughout the foldover portion only.

3. A fold-over collar having outer front and back sections eachcomprising a single stripof material, and an inner lining member, said member comprising separate neck-band and fold-over sections, the neck band section having its upper edge doubled upon itself and secured adjacent its folded edge to one of said outer sections, and the fold-over section of said lining member having its lower edge overlapping the folded portion of said neck band. section and secured thereto, and a narrow strip-of relatively heavy material secured to said lining member to extend along the overlapping edges of the sections thereof and increase the thickness of the lining member, whereby said lining member is of four-ply thickness between the front and back sections at the up- 

